NEU!
Artist
NEU! was formed in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1971 by multi-instrumentalist musicians Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother who were past members of the influential band Kraftwerk. Although they never reached mainstream commercial success, the band is nowadays recognized for shaping the sound of genres like krautrock, punk, electronic and ambient music. Their first and third albums are regarded as masterpieces by many artists, including David Bowie, Brian Eno, Iggy Pop and Thom Yorke.
The name NEU! is the German word for “New!” and pronounced as “Noy”. The band chose this name because of its prevalence of the advertising in Düsseldorf, according to Dinger, who described it as “the strongest word in advertising”.
NEU! are recognized for being part of the krautrock scene; deconstructing commercial rock/pop music with a minimalist style, the combination of a 4/4 beat called “Motorik” which repeats all over throughout the track, and the replacement of chord changes by a harmonic drone (a single chord, layering numerous electric guitar overdubs).
